1 – Read the arcticle and write a listin your notebook of all the words / expressions that you didn’t know before. Remember that online dictionaries such as Wordreference, Merriam – Webster, Longman and / or any Thesaurus can be very useful.

2 – Post an answer to this entry giving opposing online evidence for three of the points which the article talks about. This means that you will have to include three links in your post that say the opposite than any of the points. For example, if one part of the article says that not every elite sportsperson uses steroids, try to find some site in the internet that states the oposite, that all athlete actually use steroids.

One study she authored, published in 2009, followed the Stanford University women’s tennis team for five weeks as they attempted to get 10 hours of sleep each night. Those who increased their sleep time ran faster sprints and hit more accurate tennis shots than while getting their usual amount of sleep[…]http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/Athletes-Sleep.htm

[…]was in endurance sports (long distance running and cross-country skiing) 75.6 (73.6, 77.5) yr; in team games (soccer, ice hockey, basketball, as well as jumpers and short-distance runners from track and field (73.9) […]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8450727

-In the text says that the life expentancy of an athlete is not so good: “Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American”.http://www.munichre.com/en/reinsurance/topics-online/2012/05/life-top-athletes-top-risks/default.aspx
This page says that the life expectancy of an athlete is superior than the rest of the population:”And this is also true for top athletes – studies have shown that life expectancy for top athletes is several years longer than that of the general population.”

2 – Post an answer to this entry giving opposing online evidence for three of the points which the article talks about. This means that you will have to include three links in your post that say the opposite than any of the points. For example, if one part of the article says that not every elite sportsperson uses steroids, try to find some site in the internet that states the oposite, that all athlete actually use steroids.

No! Although there is strong evidence to indicate that many world class athletes use performance enhancing drugs, there is no evidence to indicate that all elite athletes use such drugs. In fact, recent estimates indicate that approximately 40% of elite athletes never used performance enhancing drugs.

-Steroid Abuse in Sports

The use of performance enhancing drugs dates as far back to the original Olympic Games, and attempts to increase testosterone were documented as early as 776 BC. These ancient athletes ingested sheep’s testicles, which they knew to be a source of testosterone. Although it might seem extreme to us now, this was a small price to pay for the prizes of the time. These athletes did not compete for medals, or for the love of the game.
They didn’t practice long hours for national pride, or to feel the championship wreath atop their heads. Much like those of today, they competed for the two things that matter most…money and prestige (the chance to make more money). Present day athletes still turn to performance enhancing drugs (often called “PEDs”) and anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS).
Link: http://www.steroidabuse.com/steroid-abuse-in-sports.html.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?

Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.

-athletes and sleep.
Many athletes sleep poorly during the night before a major competition or after crossing several time zones to compete, but most athletes aren’t sure exactly how this loss of sleep will affect their performances. Some elite athletes claim they have set PBs after a night of tossing and turning, but the prevailing view is that poor sleep leads to poor performances (see also PP, issue 69).
Link: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0075.htm.

No! Although there is strong evidence to indicate that many world class athletes use performance enhancing drugs, there is no evidence to indicate that all elite athletes use such drugs. In fact, recent estimates indicate that approximately 40% of elite athletes never used performance enhancing drugs.

Yes, many of them take anabolic steroids. In fact it is estimated that over 95 percent of all athletes in the NFL take steroids. If NFL players did not take steroids, especially Deca, they would never heal in time after injury to play the number of games. Pro athletes of all types take steroids, but let’s key in on football players. The very essence of the game is to hit each other. When you have two 280-pound linemen slamming into each other at full speed, something has to give. The human body is just not meant to take that kind of punishment on a regular basis. Football players get so bruised and busted up after each and every game they play that they need a week before they can play again. Steroids not only allow them to recover energy faster – as well as to make them bigger, stronger, and more muscular- they also allow them to heal quicker.

According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.

This article talks about Marion Jones, and says that the elite athletes trai aproximately 6 hours a day.

12. What is the personality profile of world class athletes?

According to a review of the research literature by William Morgan, the psychological profiles of elite athletes are superior to those found for lower classification athletes and the normal population. In terms of psychological states, world class athletes score low in tension, depression, anger, fatigue, and confusion, but extremely high in self confidence, mental toughness, and determination. This psychological profile is distinctly different from the profiles found for non-elite athletes and the normal population. Interestingly, non elite athletes have just about the same psychological profile as the normal population. They tend to experience more anxiety, confusion, depression, fatigue and anger then their elite counterpart. They also exhibit significantly less confidence, mental toughness and determination.

3. How many hours do world class athletes train?
It has been established that the average world class athlete trains approximately 23 hours a week. Interestingly, the average athlete in America trains approximately 12 hours a week.

As you can see there are many diferent opinios about how many hours a world class athlete train.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

14. Do all world class athletes use steroids?
No! Although there is strong evidence to indicate that many world class athletes use performance enhancing drugs, there is no evidence to indicate that all elite athletes use such drugs. In fact, recent estimates indicate that approximately 40% of elite athletes never used performance enhancing drugs.

“Elite athletes might use [steroids] for three months a year in the off season

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?

Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

The average world class athlete retires from his sport at the age of 33. Incredibly, the average NFL player is retired by the age of 28, the average world class wrestler by 24, and the average elite gymnast by 19.

5. How many hours do world class athletes sleep?
According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.

One study she authored, published in 2009, followed the Stanford University women’s tennis team for five weeks as they attempted to get 10 hours of sleep each night. Those who increased their sleep time ran faster sprints and hit more accurate tennis shots than while getting their usual amount of sleep.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

The mean LE adjusted for occupational group, marital status, and the age at entry to the cohort (and its 95% confidence limits) was in endurance sports (long distance running and cross-country skiing) 75.6 (73.6, 77.5) yr; in team games (soccer, ice hockey, basketball, as well as jumpers and short-distance runners from track and field (73.9 (72.7, 75.1) yr; in power sports (boxing, wrestling, weight lifting, and throwers from field athletics) 71.5 (70.4, 72.2) yr; and in the reference group 69.9 (69.0, 70.9) yr.

3. How many hours do world class athletes train?

It has been established that the average world class athlete trains approximately 23 hours a week. Interestingly, the average athlete in America trains approximately 12 hours a week.

3. How many hours do world class athletes train?
It has been established that the average world class athlete trains approximately 23 hours a week. Interestingly, the average athlete in America trains approximately 12 hours a week.
MY ARTICLE:
In the post about the 10,000 Hour Rule it explains that to become an excellent gymnast, successful Elite athlete, and then hope to possibly become an Olympian, gymnasts must train for 10,000 hours of practice. 10,000 hours of practice is the equivalent to working full-time, 8 hours per day for the next five years before the 2016 Olympics. Most gyms only have team training for around 4 hours per day, so it would take 8 – 10 years at that rate to get all the training in.

5. How many hours do world class athletes sleep?
According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.
MY ARTICLE:
Sleep is absolutely essential: High-level athletes that are training hard need 8-10 hours sleep. Focus on quality of sleep by going to bed before 11 p.m. for optimal hormonal release don’t use a computer or watch TV within 30 minutes of sleeping to avoid affects of electromagnetic waves and make your sleeping environment as dark as possible.

14. Do all world class athletes use steroids?
No! Although there is strong evidence to indicate that many world class athletes use performance enhancing drugs, there is no evidence to indicate that all elite athletes use such drugs. In fact, recent estimates indicate that approximately 40% of elite athletes never used performance enhancing drugs.
MY ARTICLE:
The use of banned performance-enhancing drugs in human “sport” is commonly referred to as Doping,particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical by most international sports organizations and especially the International Olympic Committee, although ethicists have argued that it is little different from the use of new materials in the construction of suits and sporting equipment, which similarly aid performance and can give competitors an unfair advantage over others.

5. How many hours do world class athletes sleep?
According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.
(The answer says that the athletes sleep 8.75 hours)http://www.livestrong.com/article/498437-is-seven-hours-of-sleep-good-for-athletes/
This article says that the athletes are sleeping 7 hours.

5. How many hours do world class athletes sleep?
According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.

My article:
And, if you want to train like an Olympian, be prepared to go to bed at the same time as the kids. Athletes aiming for the games need to sleep anywhere from eight to 10 hours a night, often followed by a 30- to 90-minute siesta, says Mahon. Resting is crucial because it gives the body a chance to rebuild tissue and muscle that’s been broken down during training.

14. Do all world class athletes use steroids?
No! Although there is strong evidence to indicate that many world class athletes use performance enhancing drugs, there is no evidence to indicate that all elite athletes use such drugs. In fact, recent estimates indicate that approximately 40% of elite athletes never used performance enhancing drugs.

My article:
Now-a-days, we all know that drug taking is pretty common, but for some it’s still hard to believe that all professional athletes in sports such as football, basketball, hockey, baseball, boxing, and track and field take anabolic steroids or enhancers.

3. How many hours do world class athletes train?
It has been established that the average world class athlete trains approximately 23 hours a week. Interestingly, the average athlete in America trains approximately 12 hours a week.

My article:
From the bits at NBC, Michael Phelps train 5 hours a day in the pool. Then he spend more time at the gym weight training.

Shawn Johnson, is not an average gymnast, train 4 hours a day. Othe gymnasts do way more than that.

What I’m most familiar with is Olympic archers. US archers, usually shoot about 3 hours a day, 6 days a week. 1 day rest. Then another 2 hours a day working with weights and cardio. That’s the figures for those archers not training at the Olympic Training Center currently. The current program at the OTC, who is now run by a Korean coach, has the archers run a few laps in the morning, shoot 3 hours, break, shoot another 3 hours, hit the weights and another 2 hours after dinner. This is similar to the programs run by the Koreans and the Ukrainians. Funny enough, out of the 5 US team members in Beijing, only 1 of them comes from that program at the OTC.

4. Do world class athletes train the same way?
Surprisingly, no! A survey conducted by Richard Cox of 367 elite athletes revealed that although they apply basically the same principles of training – progressive resistance and the overload principle – few elite athletes actually train the same way. In fact, there is a large variance in their training methods. Again, motivation and commitment seems to be the common bond between world class athletes – they all tend to train with high intensity and purpose.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?
Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.

5-How many hours do world class athletes sleep?According to researchers Martin Miller and Judd Biasiotto (that’s me) world class athletes sleep an average of 520 minutes per night – 8.75 hours a night. That is approximately an hour more sleep than what researchers Frederick Backeland and Ernest Hartmann found for the average person. According to those researchers, the average person sleeps 7.5 hours per night.

9. What is the life expectancy of world class athletes?Not so good. The average elite athlete will die by the age of 67. That is considerably lower then the 76 year life expectancy of the average American. Do you want to hear something that is really scary? According to the NFL Players Association, the average life expectancy of an NFL player is 58 years of age.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8450727
The life expectancy is abstract.

9: There are a number of studies available on this but it is hard to generalise with the term “athlete”. A quick review suggests that athletes engaged in endurance sports have better cardio-vascular systems than average. To what extent this is because they underwent training or because they were athletic as a result of having been born with a good cardio-vascular system is hard to know. Their life expectancy is longer than average as a result but then this is being compared to the rest of the population where a much higher number had not got the same congenital advantages. In other words, even if the stats showed athletes lived longer it may not be advantageous (in terms of longevity) to anyone to become an athlete; it could even have the opposite effect.

There are clearly some competitive sports that will damage your body in some ways and some of these will undoubtedly be life shortening, as already mentioned.

There is evidence to suggest that a way to increase longevity is go on a calory restricted diet – this is not what most sportsman would do though many would burn the calories at a faster rate. It seems to me that controlling ones weight to be lower than average and being moderately fit, without doing anything to excess, is probably the best regimen to achieve a long life. In most sports the idea would be to improve certain aspects, which invlove stressing the body in various ways; ultimately this can be detrimental.